Your resume will be the first thing that most employers will read when they want to know more about you in the professional world. Basically, your resume will have all the important information and credentials needed when you’re applying for a certain company, business prospect, or loan.
For most recruitment departments, there’s bound to more than one applicant that will need to be screened for a certain position. Resumes are one of the best ways of evening out the score and making sure that you have the upper hand over other candidates. Still, it’s important to note that your resume shouldn’t be the only factor that you should take into account during the recruitment process. There will still be several screening activities that might still have to go through before a final decision can be made.
So what are some key ways of making your resume stand out? Here’s what you can do.
Make It Simple
A lot of times, millennials and Gen Zs will spice up their resumes with seemingly unimportant graphs and visual aids that most people can download for free on photo editing sites. Although there’s no problem with having a visually pleasing resume, the content should speak for the applicant’s side. These visual “aids” can only inadvertently confuse and put off most employers and recruiters looking for important information on the candidate.
Instead, applicants should make their resumes clear, concise, and simple. Having a clutter of unnecessary information will only extend the screening process and eventually lead to the individual being turned down.
Make Your Portfolio Speak
Instead of flaunting about your achievements and your experiences in certain lines of work, you can let your portfolio speak for you. After all, showing others the quality of your work and
There are different ways of setting up your portfolio. Most would upload their works digitally on a certain platform that people can look at. In some cases, people who work in graphic design and content creation will compile works in a physical book.
Portfolios are extremely useful when it comes to applying for industries that require specific outputs. Oftentimes, this is in the form of writing, artisan work, construction, and other industry-specific positions.
Gear It to Your Needs
You will need to be clear with your intent on your resume. Applicants will often formulate a letter of application to show employers their intention.
Suppose you’re gearing your resume in getting a financial grant for a particular type of business prospect and project. In that case, you might want to consider investing in professional grant writers for hire that can expertly tailor your resume to your needs. Just like when you’re going to a job interview, getting a grant means that you will need to make an excellent first impression with your business prospect.
List Down Important Achievements
All of us want to flaunt our hard-earned achievements so that we can advance in our careers, but this doesn’t mean that all of our accomplishments should be placed on our resume. You will need to prioritize achievements that are relevant to what you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a grant or a loan, you might have to prioritize several business achievements that you’ve had.
Prioritize Professional History
Oftentimes, people who graduated from college or high school a few decades ago will place their educational achievements and history on their resume and often take a good amount of space on the first page. While there’s no problem in flaunting your achievements, this can be a burden for employers and recruiters who are sifting through other applicants’ files and identifying key traits that they are looking for.
When you apply for a particular type of industry, you might want to prioritize the professional history related to that industry. For instance, if you’re going to have a better opportunity to get that managerial position, you might want to emphasize your career as an office worker or manager. If you’re looking at becoming part of a company of engineers, you might want to emphasize a more “techy” side of your career.
Although this might seem like a tall list of things that you will need to do to get the attention of employers, business partners, and other prospects, these are essential to land goals in life. You don’t necessarily need to craft and write a detailed resume when all you’ll need is one that is simple and concise. The general rule of thumb when writing a resume is to ask yourself, “What would the recruiter think about my resume?” It’s also important to take into account that you’re not the only candidate, and there are bound to be others that are vying for the same position.
Ultimately, there’s no be-all-end-all way of constructing your resume, and it will all depend on how you’re going to present your information to the employer. Still, it’s important not to give your recruiters or a potential business partner a headache by making your resume simple and easy-to-understand.
